Juvat's Travel Blog

In October of 2010 while on vacation in Las Vegas we made a short journey to Valley of Fire State Park. Valley of Fire State park is one of the oldest state parks in Nevada, located about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The park consists of some very unique red sandstone rock formations, which are great for the average sightseer as well as the amateur geologist. As an added bonus, if your into photography this park has some great photo opportunities, just make sure that you arrive in the early morning or later in the afternoon to maximize the light for good photography. This park hosts fascinating ancient Indian petroglyphs that are very accessible to the casual tourist/hiker. The trails in the park are well marked with parking in close proximity to the trail heads. I would rate the park trails as an easy hike, the hardest part is the amount of loose sand, which might cause you to have to empty your shoes a few times. However, I would like to say, if you need a break from the hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas Strip or just need to get away after winning the big bucks on the blackjack table, Valley of Fire State Park is a must for the outdoors enthusiast. Please enjoy my attached photos of the park.

In 2009 we spent a few days in San Francisco, California. We really enjoyed ourselves the weather was beautiful during our stay and we had the chance to take in many of the city sights. I would have to say that our favorite stop was at Muir Woods National Monument. The woods are modern preservation at its finest, the coastal redwood trees are amazing in the park. Anyone taking a vacation to the Bay area should definitely make the drive up to this national monument, it is well worth it. Be sure to give yourself enough time to do some hiking in the park to get the most of your visit. Other enjoyable attraction in San Francisco included a couple of trolley car rides, it’s remarkable that they still use wooden brakes that press down on the tracks to stop the trolleys. We also made the trek by boat out to Alcatraz Island which was covered in fog when we arrived. Alcatraz is a really cool place to wander and check out the empty cell blocks that housed some of America’s most notorious criminals such as Al Capone. Other notable sights were Fisherman’s Wharf, Alamo Square and the Golden Gate Bridge, which amazingly enough, a couple of people recently jumped off of and survived. Please enjoy a couple of photos from our trip.

So I've heard many people keep travel diaries/blogs/websites/journals/books etc to keep a memory of their travels, & to update people back home on what their doing... Well, I thought the idea was a novel one and decided to try my hand at creating a travel blog to post items of interest during my travels of the past and present.

Let me start by introducing myself, my name is Roy, I am retired military (U.S. Air Force) and throughout the years I have had an opportunity to do some traveling and this blog is a way for me to share some photos and experiences with anyone who is willing to read my travel blog. Let me start by answering the question, what is a Juvat? In the early 1990's I was stationed at Kunsan Air Force Base in South Korea where I worked as an aircraft mechanic on F-16 fighter aircraft and the squadron's name was the 80th fighter squadron - the Juvats (Headhunters). As the motto goes "Once a Juvat, always a Juvat". I look forward to updating information and photos in the near future.

Please come occasionally to see what's new here at Juvat's Travel Blog.

Thanks
Roy